


The Literal Last Second

by artikgato



Category: Persona 4
Genre: M/M, Teenage Rebellion, last second love declarations, there should have been an ending where souji got to stay in inaba just saying, yosuke has the best timing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 14:15:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5931427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artikgato/pseuds/artikgato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why should Souji have to leave Inaba? Dojima and Nanako were here, his friends were here, his classmates were here...and what, he just had to go back to the city, back to parents that had basically abandoned him in the countryside for a year? Souji had told him once, because he has asked, that his parents were very smart, very strict, but above all else, very distant. Why should Souji - amazing, brilliant, kind, warm Souji - have to go back to them? Back to classmates that he hadn't bothered to remember? Why? And why was it now, at the literal last second, with the train pulling into the station that would take him away from them, now of all times that Yosuke was starting to realize how...how much he felt for Souji?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Literal Last Second

**Author's Note:**

> The reward for beating Izanami should have been an ending where Souji got to stay in Inaba instead of going back to the city, honestly.

It didn't really hit him until they were all standing on the train platform, and Souji was facing them, bag in hand and a sad smile on his face.

Souji was leaving. Souji was actually _leaving_.

It wasn't like it was news to Yosuke or anything. He'd known this for _months_ , and they'd all spent the last few days hanging out with him as much as possible, and Yosuke had even helped him _pack_ , but it hadn't seemed totally real, like it was really happening, until now. Now, with Souji turning his attention to each of their friends in turn as they said their goodbyes, telling Rise not to cry, telling Teddie that he would be back soon. Souji was _actually leaving_.

It didn't really seem fair. Why should Souji have to leave Inaba? Dojima and Nanako were here, his friends were here, his classmates were here...and what, he just had to go back to the city, back to parents that had basically abandoned him in the countryside for a year? Souji had told him once, because he has asked, that his parents were very smart, very strict, but above all else, very distant. Why should Souji - amazing, brilliant, kind, warm Souji - have to go back to them? Back to classmates that he hadn't bothered to remember? Why?

And why was it now, at the literal last second, with the train pulling into the station that would take him away from them, _now_ of all times that Yosuke was starting to realize how...how _much_ he felt for Souji? Not simply just _how_ he felt. He was very swiftly coming to terms with the fact that all this time, probably from the first moment he had met Souji, he had felt things for him that were a great deal more than just friendly, though even now his instinct was to deny them. He wanted to scream. Why now? He had like ten seconds to say something, and there was _nothing_ he could say or do that would even come close to conveying just how deep his feelings ran, just how strongly he felt.

Souji was looking at him, expectantly, and Yosuke suddenly realized that he was the only one out of the group that hadn't spoken. He had to say something now, or he wouldn't get to say anything at all. What was he supposed to say? 'I'll miss you, Partner', or 'It won't be the same without you', or 'Keep in touch, okay?' None of those were any good, but one of them would have to do, because there wasn't anything else. So, he opened his mouth to say one of them, he wasn't really sure which one, but instead he blurted out,

"I love you."

Yosuke froze. Time stood still. He hadn't meant to say _that_ , but it would hurt too much to take it back, so he couldn't. Souji just stared at him, mouth open in shock. It was unnerving, but Yosuke didn't dare to look away, to see if anyone else had heard him. Of course they had, and Yosuke knew it, he was dimly aware of the way Yukiko had gasped, the squawking noise Rise had made, Teddie's confused noise, Kanji's whisper of 'damn'. None of it mattered, not really, because Souji had every single bit of Yosuke's attention as he snapped his mouth shut, furrowed his brow, and opened his mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by an announcement ringing out, declaring that the train would be leaving shortly. Yosuke had waited too long, and now everything was ruined, damn it. Should he have said something sooner? Should he have never said anything at all? Now Souji was just going to get on that train and leave and maybe, if he was lucky, he would forgive Yosuke, or pretend this never happened, or...

...or grab him by the hand and suddenly start _running_? What? Yosuke was barely able to make his feet move, stumbling along behind Souji as he pulled him along behind, running away from the train and all Yosuke could do was follow.

"S-souji what?" he barely managed to ask, his confused protest almost drowned out by the shouts of "Sempai!" and "Big Bro?" and "Sensei!" from the crowd they were very rapidly leaving behind. Yosuke had no idea how long they ran for, only that he was pushed up against a wall, nearly so hard that he had the breath knocked out of his lungs, and Souji was very suddenly kissing him. It wasn't a hesitant kiss either, it was hard and demanding and so full of _want_ that Yosuke actually felt a little dizzy.

"Say it again," Souji breathed, when they finally stopped kissing. Yosuke just stared at him dumbly for a few seconds, still trying to process the fact that _Souji had been kissing him_.

"W...wha?" he managed to stutter out, bewildered.

"Tell me you love me," Souji requested. He was _blushing_. And not just the little, barely-there blush that Souji sometimes got when he was embarrassed, no, his entire face was red. Yosuke was starting to feel dizzy again.

"Um, I..." he started, and, damn it all, why was it so much _harder_ the second time? Souji was looking at him, and he wasn't saying anything, but the look in his eyes was something Yosuke had never seen before. Something like panic, or desperation. He looked almost frantic, and it was enough for Yosuke to make him steel his nerves. He'd said it the first time, and Souji had dragged him here and _kissed him_ , after all, so surely he returned his feelings?

"I love you, Souji," he finally managed to gasp. Souji practically crushed him in a hug, burying his face in the side of Yosuke's neck with something that sounded suspicously like a sob, but there was no way that _Souji_ had made a noise like that, right?

"Say it again," he repeated, voice muffled by Yosuke's shirt. Yosuke grinned, feeling the nervous twisting in his stomach turn into butterflies instead.

"I love you," he sighed, wrapping his arms around Souji in return. They just stayed like that for a few minutes. They hadn't gone far - Yosuke could still hear the announcements from the train station, informing them that the train was now leaving. The train was _leaving_ , and Souji wasn't on it - he was pressing Yosuke against a wall of the train station with all of his weight and holding him and not letting go.

"The train just left," Yosuke informed him.

"I know," he replied, still not moving.

"Won't your parents be mad?" he asked. Souji was silent, so Yosuke decided to continue. "Well, I guess you can just get on the next one, right?" It hurt to think about, but...

"I'm not going," Souji said. He finally moved, pushing away from the wall and stepping back from Yosuke, but not too far. His tone had been hard, but he was... _smiling_ , and it was the most breathtaking thing Yosuke had ever seen. Literally - his response died in his throat and he couldn't speak. Before he could get his bearings, Souji was leaning forward and grabbing his hand, and now he was dragging him away again, this time at a more reasonable pace. After a bit of walking, Souji used his other hand to dig his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. They were walking away from the station and out towards an empty field, filled with nothing but grass and sunshine, and it was quiet enough that Yosuke could hear when a woman's voice picked up the phone.

"Souji? Is everything alright? Did the train get delayed?" she asked.

"I didn't get on the train," he replied. He stopped walking. Yosuke thought about taking a few steps away, but Souji didn't let go of his hand, so he decided to stay put. There was a long silence on the other side of the phone, before he heard her sigh.

"I know you want to stay in Inaba, Souji, but we've been over this. Yasogami is no good for you! The school we have you enrolled in here is one of the top high schools in the nation, and-"

"I don't care about that," Souji cut her off. Yosuke was trying not to pry, but Souji still hadn't let go of his hand. In fact, he was squeezing it now.

"I know you don't," she replied with a sigh. "But we do. We just want what is best for you, Souji."

"What, coming home from a school I don't care about every day to an empty house? Being a thousand miles away from the first friends I've made in years? Having to spend hours on a train to come visit them?" he asked. His tone was still civil, but slowly turning icy.

"Souji," she reprimanded, but he continued.

"There's someone here that I love," he replied, talking to his mother but looking Yosuke straight in the eye. Yosuke sucked in a breath. Hearing him say it like that, it was...he didn't even think he could breathe right now, he was stunned and happy all at once. So he just squeezed Souji's hand in return. Souji smiled back, even as his mother continued.

"Yes yes, Ryotaro and Nanako-chan are both there, we know you've gotten attached to them, and you love them both very much-" she started.

"There's someone here that I've _fallen in love with_ ," Souji corrected her, still looking him in the eye. Yosuke had to squeeze his hand a little harder, starting to feel so lightheaded that he would float away if he didn't have something anchoring him to the ground.

"I'm sure she's very nice, Souji," his mother sounded frazzled now. "But she isn't worth giving up an education at such a prestigious school."

Souji waited for few seconds, deliberately, before speaking up again.

"He," he said.

"...what?" she asked, clearly confused.

"A few years ago I asked you and father if boys could date other boys. Remember what father told me? Whatever other people did was their business, but if _I_ got those kinds of ideas in my head, he would disown me," he continued. Now he was looking away, across the field. Yosuke felt his stomach sinking. He almost wanted to protest, say that it wasn't worth being _disowned_ , that _he_ wasn't worth being disowned... but it was too late now.

"What are you..." his mother asked, but it was clear she knew what he meant.

" _He_ is wonderful, and _he_ is worth staying in Inaba for. And Yasogami is a perfectly good school, you and I both know that," Souji replied.

"Souji!" she protested.

"I'm staying here, mother. You can be supportive or you can disown me, I don't care which," he said, and then he just simply hung up the phone. It rang only a few seconds later, and Souji ignored the call. He turned to say something to Yosuke, only for the phone to ring again. Annoyed, he just threw the phone down into the grass. He had been calm when he had been talking to his mother, but now he just looked...vulnerable. Distressed, and vulnerable, and for the first time in his life, Souji looked like he didn't know what to do. This was another first for Yosuke - after nearly a year of having his own insecurities and worries bared to Souji, now it was his turn to see his partner vulnerable and nervous. It didn't suit him, but it _did_ make Yosuke want to hug him again, so he did.

"Souji," he sighed. He felt the other boy start to relax once the insistent buzzing of his cell phone cut off.

"I've liked you ever since that first trip into the TV world, you know," Souji finally said.

"Really?" Yosuke asked. They separated and Souji met his eyes, nodding. Yosuke laughed.

"I...I didn't realize how I felt about you until just a few minutes ago," he admitted. Souji laughed too.

"I'm glad you did," he replied.

"Yeah, me too."

And then they were just standing there in the sunlight, holding eachothers hands and staring into eachothers eyes, and neither of them knew what to say.

"So," Yosuke finally broke the silence, blushing and looking away, awkwardly. "What now?"

"Now we go back, before Dojima-san and the others send out a search party," Souji replied, still smiling.

"What about your parents?" Yosuke asked, even as Souji turned back toward the train station and started pulling him along behind him.

"What _about_ my parents?" he replied. Yosuke sighed.

"I'm sure they're mad," he said.

"Furious," Souji agreed. "Mother is probably on the phone with Dojima-san right now."

"What do you think will happen?" Yosuke asked, his voice quiet. Would they force Souji to leave? Would he really be disowned?

"I don't know," Souji replied, honestly. He looked over at Yosuke, and it was clear he was more worried than he was acting, but he was still smiling. "But I finally found the one thing worth disobeying my parents for. I'm happy."

"Dumbass," Yosuke replied, all affection in his voice, as he felt a blush overtake his face again.

As it turned out, Dojima was actually on Souji's side, a fact that was a surprise to every party involved. They returned to the station to find him arguing with someone over the phone, Souji's mother no doubt, and the rest of the group in varying states of confusion and worry. Nanako spotted them first, her face breaking into a huge grin.

"Big bro!" she called out, alerting the group to their presence, and then she was barrelling into him, laughing happily. Souji let go of Yosuke's hand and scooped her up, laughing too. "I don't know what's going on, but I think you're staying in Inaba, right? Dad is on the phone with your mom, and she sounds really mad, though?"

"I'm staying," Souji replied, and his own smile only got bigger when the reaction from his approaching friends was a chorus of "all right!" and "yes!"

"Sempai, what's going on? What happened?" Rise asked, when she and the rest of the group, barring Dojima, approached the three of them.

"My parents might be disowning me, but I'm staying here," Souji replied. Rise and Yukiko gasped.

"Well that's...the part about you getting disowned is pretty bad," Chie commented, but despite her serious words she was grinning, just like the rest of them. "But the part about you staying in Inaba is good!"

"And it's all Yosuke's fault," Souji informed them, grinning over at him. Yosuke jolted and turned red as everyone turned their attention to him.

"Uh..." Yosuke stammered. Beside him, Teddie chuckled.

"I have to say, Yosuke, that last second love declaration was pretty bold!" he teased.

"Shut up," Yosuke replied, frowning at him and crossing his arms.

"Yeah, not to mention totally hypocritical, after all the cracks you've made at me, sempai," Kanji accused. Yosuke sighed.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, all right? I just...I didn't even figure anything out until this morning. I didn't know...h-how I felt until about two seconds before I blurted it out," he explained, staring at his feet and trying to will away the blush. Rise suddenly groaned.

"It's not fair! If I'd _known_ that all it would take to keep Sempai here was a love confession I would have done it first!" she cried. Next to her, Yukiko sighed and patted her on the head, reassuringly.

"Rise-chan, no offense, but somehow I don't think that would have worked..."

"So big bro, does this mean that I can't marry you when I'm older?" Nanako suddenly asked. Yosuke choked, and all eyes turned to her, even as Souji laughed.

"Only if Yosuke doesn't screw things up," he answered. He winked over at Yosuke, and everyone else laughed, Yosuke finally feeling the tension ease out of him as he decided to just laugh along with them.

"I hate to break this up, but you are in some serious trouble, Souji," Dojima's voice broke through the laughter. Everyone turned to look at him. He was frowning, phone in hand. Everyone's faces fell, and Yosuke felt the pit drop out of his stomach.

"How so?" Souji asked. He _sounded_ calm, but...

"Your parents are very, very angry with you," Dojima started. Nanako made a distressed noise, and he sighed. He pointed at both Souji and Yosuke. "You two need to come with me. And the rest of you," he continued, turning to address the rest of the group. "Be at my house in an hour and a half. And bring food."

"...what?" Kanji asked, after a moment of stunned silence. Dojima's expression finally changed, into a smirk.

"Can't have a welcome back party without food, right?" he asked, and turned on his heel, walking away from the station. Souji just smiled and followed him, still carrying Nanako, and Yosuke had to scramble to keep up.

"Does this mean that Big Bro can stay?" Nanako squealed.

"As long as he needs to," Dojima confirmed. The group cheered, Nanako hugged Souji tighter, Souji smiled and looked over at Yosuke and Yosuke, finally realizing that he _hadn't_ screwed up Souji's life for him, grinned back. Souji held out the hand that wasn't around Nanako and Yosuke blushed but took hold of it and let Souji lead him out of the station.


End file.
